Amidst concerns of rubber cultivation in Kerala gradually losing its sheen, rubber growers allege that their issues have been given a short shrift at the recently concluded India Rubber Meet (IRM) in Guwahati.
According to the National Consortium of Rubber Producers Societies (NCRPS), a collective of small-scale rubber growers, the two-day conference neither featured any presentations by the growers nor did it discuss the issues concerning them.
“The organisers failed to acknowledge the 13-lakh strong small-scale growers as one of the key stakeholders in the country’s rubber sector. About 50 of us attended the event but we were regarded as mere audience,” said Babu Joseph, secretary.
This, he said, was in direct violation of a suggestion by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to promote engagement with rubber growers. While inaugurating the Mobility Expo in the national capital, the Prime Minister had called for a constructive dialogue between tyre manufacturers and farmers. The Prime Minister had also said the survival of farmers was also necessary for the manufacturers.
“The India Rubber Meet was a perfect platform to initiate a dialogue on different subjects such as the gap in international and domestic prices and export of rubber to capitalise on this price difference etc. However, this did not happen. We were completely ignored, even during a panel discussion on stakeholder perspectives,” he said.
Rubber Board sources, on the other hand, reiterated that the foremost objective of the IRM was to extend maximum support to growers. The biennial event focusses on different subjects based on their relevance at the time of its organisation and the participants were selected accordingly.
“The presentations and panel discussions this time were focussed on topics such as climate change, European Union deforestation regulations, circularity in tyre industry, and the INROAD project in the North-East etc. This warranted the presence of subject experts than small-scale growers,” said an official.
